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Category: Research Articles
July 01, 2004
Psychiatry has been isolated from the mainstream of medicine; this has been bad for the profession and worse for the mentally ill. This article discusses some important ethical problems in the practice of psychiatry in India.
January 01, 2004
Laparoscopic or 'minimally invasive' surgery has become the gold standard procedure in cholecystectomy, fundoplication and adrenelectomy and has major advantages in appendicectomy and for diagnosis of pain/mass of unknown origin in the abdomen. However, because of its mass acceptance by patients ...
April 01, 2004
I am a pathologist in private practice since 1975. Being a consultant, I consider myself to be a specialist in pathology and hence I only give advice in the branches of pathology and microbiology. Though my basic degree is MB,BS, and I see at least 20 diabetic patients per day, I have never given...
April 01, 2004
When the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) was first discovered over 20 years ago, there began a huge effort to educate people about the risks associated with HIV infection, and promote abstinence, condoms and clean needles as ways to curb the growing rate of infection. Despite the massive effor...
October 01, 2003
The reported harassment of a medical student by his teachers has sparked off a heated debate in Kerala. The student, the son of a former state legislator, committed suicide, apparently after teachers intentionally failed him in the final examination. Following extensive press coverage, the state ...
October 01, 2003
Physicians should act in their patients' best interests. They should also respect their patients' wishes-which may not be in their best interests. For example, a patient may be in the ICU and nearing death with no chance of survival. Yet, he wants to continue active treatment. In such cases, pati...
July 01, 2003
It has been reported from the Idukki district of Kerala at Poomala tribal settlement that 45 persons sold their kidneys and 30 received advance payment for the same. In Kerala, there are 20-80 renal transplantations per month from live donors, mostly done by private, for-profit hospitals.
July 01, 2003
Do camera footage and still photographs depicting death, disease and injury represent an invasion of privacy, or are they appropriate forms of publicity? Recently, photographs of patients suspected to be suffering from severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) were published in newspapers as well ...
April 01, 2003
The unravelling of the entire genetic sequence of humans and, more recently, of important pathogens such as the causative agents of tuberculosis and malaria are landmark events in science. This is just a beginning in improving our understanding of biology and disease. The tools and techniques for...
April 01, 2003
Enlargement of people's choices is one form of human development. To this extent, biotechnology as a treatment option for certain human ailments such as genetic disorders can be taken as an effort towards human development, as it definitely extends the range of choices available to the public. Th...